While students flock from Westwood around the country for spring break, in-season athletes do not receive the same break.
In fact, quite the opposite with a litany of ranked opponents on the horizon.
No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (16-2, 3-1 MPSF) will host No. 5 Arizona State (23-4, 1-3) on Saturday and No. 7 Loyola Marymount (20-3, 5-0 GCC) on Sunday to close out a span of nine straight games at Spieker Aquatics Center.
“That ASU team that’s coming here is really good, they’ve been giving everyone fits including Cal (California) and USC,” said interim co-head coach Jason Falitz. “The easy thing is to look ahead and think about the conference, but that’s not even in our vision right now because that will take away the focus on what’s really important, and that’s being present for the next moment.”
Saturday’s match against ASU marks the fourth out of five conference games, critical for MPSF tournament seeding as UCLA currently sits in a three-way tie for second place with No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 Cal at a 3-1 record.
The Bruins beat the Sun Devils 15-8 at the Triton Invitational on Jan. 31 behind senior attacker Taylor Smith’s six-goal performance, but has not faced them competitively in MPSF play.
Arizona State attacker Millie Quin ranks fourth in the country and first in the MPSF with 68 goals, yielding an elite 62% of her shots. Quin has won 19 of 26 sprints this campaign.
UCLA last faced LMU in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament, in which they won 11-8. The Lions and Sun Devils have faced twice this year, the Sun Devils taking both matches, 17-15 and 15-10.
“We have to back it up with another really good opponent in LMU on Sunday,” Falitz said. “We’ve talked about being more consistent all year, and as we grow as a group, as it gets later in the season, our ability to play four quarters. We always say, if we can stay consistent on the (defensive) end of the pool, we can (have) moments where maybe the offense isn’t clicking, and we can remain in the game.”
This weekend marks the Bruins first matches against top-10 opponents since falling to the Cardinal on March 7.
Since the 10-9 loss, the Westwood squad have yet to give up double digits in a match, allowing just 21 goals over four games. UCLA has outscored its opponents with 60 total goals in the span.
Senior center Bia Mantellato – the team’s second highest scorer – has totaled 10 goals over the four-game winning streak, while moving around between offensive positions.
“We really play group-first and don’t think about individual things,” Mantellato said. “So I just try to play my best role when I play different positions and just do everything for my teammates.”
Freshman attacker Katherine O’Dea has two goals and two assists in the previous four games, while similarly effective on the defensive end of the pool.
Strong communication has helped solidify the unit all season.
“I can’t say enough how helpful it is to hear someone behind me that they have my back and I’m able to move where I need to move,” O’Dea said.
With the Bruins in the final push of the year unity is a key factor.
The MPSF tournament is three weeks away allowing time for last minute tune-ups prior to the commencement of postseason play. With the overall season being two weeks shorter this year, the team has had to adjust to quicker turnarounds.
“It all comes down to the players in the pool being aware of their area, being aware of each other, and being able to communicate, which allows them to be connected,” Falitz said. “When we’re communicating, reading, aware and anticipating the next step of what the offense potentially could do, is when we’re a super dangerous team.”
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